Can you guys judge my jumpshot form and give me some serious criticisms?

I've been trying to fix my jumpshot constantly because every time I thought I was shooting correctly somebody would commentate on how odd my form was. So today I had my friend help me correct my shot. I was out shooting for 3 hours and had my friend tell me when I shot wrong and when I shot correctly (L shaped elbow, arm parallel to ground, but mostly not letting my arm go up too high allowing the ball to go past my head). My initial form earlier in the day looked like Carlos Boozer's form. Even when I am sure that I am not bringing the ball up behind my head, my friend tells me I did it again. It's like a battle with my mind, muscle memory us too hard to readjust, just like eliminating a bad habit.

What I am looking for are not only tips on the form in the video but tips on what I can do to force myself to shoot correctly, such as making sure I do not bring the ball past my head, making sure my arm stays L shaped etc. One more thing that can be seen in my videos are the ways that my right knee when bending them before a shot. A year ago I tried to correct this using the same method I was doing today with my friend, but with someone else. Even after a couple of hours I was still doing the knee thing half the time according to the other guy, but sadly I took a break from basketball and completely forgot about this problem until I watched the video. Is it possible that the way I buckle my knee affects the accurate of my jumpshot? Do you guys have any tips for correcting this? Because last time I tried, even though I tried my absolute hardest, my legs couldn't resist sometimes and did it anyways.

Re: Can you guys judge my jumpshot form and give me some serious criticisms?

If you haven't already, I'd highly suggest pausing your new video just at moments where your entire body is in view and just prior to your release. For instance, pause at the 3:27 mark where the ball is locked and loaded above your head. I think this mark (and the 3:55 point) both serve as great places to begin a breakdown of one's own shooting stroke.

From that freeze-frame:

1. Take a look at your feet: They're pointed nearly 45 degrees away from your target (the rim). Further, your right foot seems at least slightly too far in front of your left foot; the effects of which are likely compounded by the aforementioned lack of squaring to the target.

You mentioned how you could not get your right knee to stop crooking. I believe that crook is almost entirely a result of your feet pointing in the wrong direction combined with the right being so far in front of the left. If you just stand around like that in real life while you're randomly waiting in line at the grocery or something, with your feet all staggered and crooked, at least one of your knees would probably have to bend a funny way to compensate, yes?

Often, when our shooting stroke is running amok, we tend to look at our arm mechanics as the primary culprit. And in your case, I do think there's some arm motions we could work on (which I'll refer to later). But I think every shot must begin with a solid base, meaning from our feet on upward. This means squaring your feet to the basket every single time you shoot. Force your feet and check your feet (or have a friend check them) to make sure they're square (aka pointed at the basket) every time you shoot. Once the correct squaring process has been established, this will likely throw off the rest of your stroke temporarily, since your body is accustomed to attempting to score while crooked.

Further, it is likely going to help to maintain a wide base as you begin working toward squaring the feet. A wide base will centralize your balance and simplify the shooting process. The closer our feet are to one another, the more likely it is for us to experience a slight balance shift when attempting to shoot off the move, thus leading to an inaccurate shot.

2. Take a look at your knees/body: I recall feeling as though I was exploding on my jumpshots at one point, only to realize - once I watched a video of myself - that I was actually nearly standing straight up during the entire process. That's what I'm seeing here. You bend your knees slightly during the shooting process, but in the scheme of things, its effect on your stroke is negligible.

If you still have your screen paused around the 3:27 mark, I say rewind it a few seconds and re-watch your shot in full. Can you notice the lack of legs? It's nearly a standing-straight-up jumpshot. Being so upright will often result in a slower, less explosive, less powerful, and ultimately less effective jump shot.

With that said, merely shooting around with oneself is often a breeding ground for bad habits and the first thing that tends to hit the shelf is the legs. But it's important to remind oneself to implement them at all times. In your case, I'd suggest bending your knees before you even catch the rock (perhaps acting like you're coming off a screen), so it feels as though you're crouching. Work on catching and squaring one's feet while staying in the crouch position. Its then simply a matter of exploding upward for your shot. This leads to. . .

3. Make your stroke one continuous motion: I think largely a result of your crooked base and lack of leg power, you seem to have compensated with a healthy catapult motion. By this I mean, your shooting motion often seemed to consist of raising the ball upward, cocking it back, sitting in a pocket for a moment's notice, before finally moving forward to complete the stroke. Again, I'm using 3:25 as an example. It's part catapult, part fling.

Here's an example of what I think we should shoot for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzLA78Qb3fg#t=1m25s
Take notice of how Hamilton is already low with knees bent. He's not all-out in a crouch, but he's surely not straight up. Once Hamilton catches, next take notice of how his shot rises and releases in one continuous motion. Then compare that to your shot which seems to rise, head backward for a moment, freeze, then proceed forward. That's what we want to try to eliminate. Looking at your old shooting video, it doesn't look like that catapult was always there. It's as if someone told you your shooting pocket was too far in front of your body (and it may have been) so you went in the complete opposite direction.

In all honesty, I think fixing up the legs (squaring them/using them) may eliminate some of the catapult tendencies naturally. But I still think it's going to help to work on some one hand shooting (that is, standing close to the basket and practicing using one's legs and only the shooting hand to rise and follow throw in one smooth motion).

I'll say, your arm motion is already a lot of the ways there. It changed throughout your new video as you took instruction it seemed. For instance, many times you'd seem to snap your shot, then a moment later, you'd display a pretty solid follow through. But for all intensive purposes, your arms are largely on the right track (as long as that follow through becomes consistent and the catapult lessons).

Essentially, I'd recommend practice and repetition. With my brothers and players, that often mean we "shoot some shots", which is our way of saying we partner shoot. One person shoots and gets his own rebound, then passes to his partner who should be squared up or pretending to come off of a screen. We often shoot in groups of 50 makes. It's a good way of working on shooting fundamentals without having to shoot, rebound, dribble slowly back to a spot, shoot again, etc.

Work on creating one fluid upward motion. Start low. Square feet. Wide stance. Rise and release with the legs.

Re: Can you guys judge my jumpshot form and give me some serious criticisms?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rake2204

If you haven't already, I'd highly suggest pausing your new video just at moments where your entire body is in view and just prior to your release. For instance, pause at the 3:27 mark where the ball is locked and loaded above your head. I think this mark (and the 3:55 point) both serve as great places to begin a breakdown of one's own shooting stroke.

From that freeze-frame:

1. Take a look at your feet: They're pointed nearly 45 degrees away from your target (the rim). Further, your right foot seems at least slightly too far in front of your left foot; the effects of which are likely compounded by the aforementioned lack of squaring to the target.

You mentioned how you could not get your right knee to stop crooking. I believe that crook is almost entirely a result of your feet pointing in the wrong direction combined with the right being so far in front of the left. If you just stand around like that in real life while you're randomly waiting in line at the grocery or something, with your feet all staggered and crooked, at least one of your knees would probably have to bend a funny way to compensate, yes?

Often, when our shooting stroke is running amok, we tend to look at our arm mechanics as the primary culprit. And in your case, I do think there's some arm motions we could work on (which I'll refer to later). But I think every shot must begin with a solid base, meaning from our feet on upward. This means squaring your feet to the basket every single time you shoot. Force your feet and check your feet (or have a friend check them) to make sure they're square (aka pointed at the basket) every time you shoot. Once the correct squaring process has been established, this will likely throw off the rest of your stroke temporarily, since your body is accustomed to attempting to score while crooked.

Further, it is likely going to help to maintain a wide base as you begin working toward squaring the feet. A wide base will centralize your balance and simplify the shooting process. The closer our feet are to one another, the more likely it is for us to experience a slight balance shift when attempting to shoot off the move, thus leading to an inaccurate shot.

2. Take a look at your knees/body: I recall feeling as though I was exploding on my jumpshots at one point, only to realize - once I watched a video of myself - that I was actually nearly standing straight up during the entire process. That's what I'm seeing here. You bend your knees slightly during the shooting process, but in the scheme of things, its effect on your stroke is negligible.

If you still have your screen paused around the 3:27 mark, I say rewind it a few seconds and re-watch your shot in full. Can you notice the lack of legs? It's nearly a standing-straight-up jumpshot. Being so upright will often result in a slower, less explosive, less powerful, and ultimately less effective jump shot.

With that said, merely shooting around with oneself is often a breeding ground for bad habits and the first thing that tends to hit the shelf is the legs. But it's important to remind oneself to implement them at all times. In your case, I'd suggest bending your knees before you even catch the rock (perhaps acting like you're coming off a screen), so it feels as though you're crouching. Work on catching and squaring one's feet while staying in the crouch position. Its then simply a matter of exploding upward for your shot. This leads to. . .

3. Make your stroke one continuous motion: I think largely a result of your crooked base and lack of leg power, you seem to have compensated with a healthy catapult motion. By this I mean, your shooting motion often seemed to consist of raising the ball upward, cocking it back, sitting in a pocket for a moment's notice, before finally moving forward to complete the stroke. Again, I'm using 3:25 as an example. It's part catapult, part fling.

Here's an example of what I think we should shoot for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzLA78Qb3fg#t=1m25s
Take notice of how Hamilton is already low with knees bent. He's not all-out in a crouch, but he's surely not straight up. Once Hamilton catches, next take notice of how his shot rises and releases in one continuous motion. Then compare that to your shot which seems to rise, head backward for a moment, freeze, then proceed forward. That's what we want to try to eliminate. Looking at your old shooting video, it doesn't look like that catapult was always there. It's as if someone told you your shooting pocket was too far in front of your body (and it may have been) so you went in the complete opposite direction.

In all honesty, I think fixing up the legs (squaring them/using them) may eliminate some of the catapult tendencies naturally. But I still think it's going to help to work on some one hand shooting (that is, standing close to the basket and practicing using one's legs and only the shooting hand to rise and follow throw in one smooth motion).

I'll say, your arm motion is already a lot of the ways there. It changed throughout your new video as you took instruction it seemed. For instance, many times you'd seem to snap your shot, then a moment later, you'd display a pretty solid follow through. But for all intensive purposes, your arms are largely on the right track (as long as that follow through becomes consistent and the catapult lessons).

Essentially, I'd recommend practice and repetition. With my brothers and players, that often mean we "shoot some shots", which is our way of saying we partner shoot. One person shoots and gets his own rebound, then passes to his partner who should be squared up or pretending to come off of a screen. We often shoot in groups of 50 makes. It's a good way of working on shooting fundamentals without having to shoot, rebound, dribble slowly back to a spot, shoot again, etc.

Work on creating one fluid upward motion. Start low. Square feet. Wide stance. Rise and release with the legs.

Thanks for the tips you gave me. I sincerely appreciate them, it's just so much to swallow. So far I have allotted that I should start by pointing my right foot towards the rim instead of inward and widening my base some more, then go from there. I will definitely try that out first things first once I get back on a basketball court. As for the catapult motion, It was much more severe earlier that day, I have some of that footage but did not upload that because I wanted my new form consulted, to see if it was that much better than how I shot before. Basically I brought the ball way further behind my head, further exaggerating the catapult motion. Any tips for getting my muscles to stop doing this motion? Also I understand what you are saying about catching the rock in a position when I am ready to shoot, I have been practicing that and shoot much better that way, I just need help on having the ball high up, and then having to bend my knees. I've been told to bring the ball straight up in this situation, but this results in me having the ball in its shot pocket before I even have my knees fully bent, should I disregard their advice and bring the ball down as I bend my knees, and then shoot? I apologize if I am being too greedy with the questions, it's just that your advice was phenomenal and it sounds like you are well-educated in regards to the jump shot.

To further help my point, if you pause at the 1:21 mark of this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYF66...eature=related
You will see that Dwyane Wade has his knees fully bent but the shot pocket is still below his waist, whereas I would already have the shot pocket ready for release at this point. Is that a flaw in my shot? I changed this part of my shot due to the advice I received from an old-head, he told me not to bring the ball down before I shoot because I will be more prone to being stripped and my release and be slower. I've been given a lot of advice about my jump shot form in real life, but I'm beginning to question if all of it was correct. I'm not questioning your advice though of course, I believe everything you say.

Re: Can you guys judge my jumpshot form and give me some serious criticisms?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Permodius

Thanks for the tips you gave me. I sincerely appreciate them, it's just so much to swallow. So far I have allotted that I should start by pointing my right foot towards the rim instead of inward and widening my base some more, then go from there. I will definitely try that out first things first once I get back on a basketball court. As for the catapult motion, It was much more severe earlier that day, I have some of that footage but did not upload that because I wanted my new form consulted, to see if it was that much better than how I shot before. Basically I brought the ball way further behind my head, further exaggerating the catapult motion. Any tips for getting my muscles to stop doing this motion? Also I understand what you are saying about catching the rock in a position when I am ready to shoot, I have been practicing that and shoot much better that way, I just need help on having the ball high up, and then having to bend my knees. I've been told to bring the ball straight up in this situation, but this results in me having the ball in its shot pocket before I even have my knees fully bent, should I disregard their advice and bring the ball down as I bend my knees, and then shoot? I apologize if I am being too greedy with the questions, it's just that your advice was phenomenal and it sounds like you are well-educated in regards to the jump shot.

To further help my point, if you pause at the 1:21 mark of this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYF66...eature=related
You will see that Dwyane Wade has his knees fully bent but the shot pocket is still below his waist, whereas I would already have the shot pocket ready for release at this point. Is that a flaw in my shot? I changed this part of my shot due to the advice I received from an old-head, he told me not to bring the ball down before I shoot because I will be more prone to being stripped and my release and be slower. I've been given a lot of advice about my jump shot form in real life, but I'm beginning to question if all of it was correct. I'm not questioning your advice though of course, I believe everything you say.

Regarding your knees and the shot pocket:

I think you're close to coming to your own conclusion there. I see a lot of folks suggesting a person "keep the ball high" when they shoot but that's very often misinterpreted, and rightly so, for it's very vague advice. In truth, I feel the advice "keep the ball high" has more to do with where a person releases the ball than where their pocket begins, because everyone has to start their shot from a low area, since that's where they often pick up their dribble and that's where a lot of their power comes from.

For example, take a guy who has a history of being one of the "highest" shooting form guys - Rasheed Wallace. People often see photos of where his arms are at the point of release and assume that's where his entire shot process took place. Not so. Take a look at this video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsDULdstJ5U#t=1m22s . Rasheed catches the ball near his chest, and still must bring the ball down to his waist to begin his shooting process (as he bends his knees). It finishes high, but it starts low; and it's one continuous motion.

Essentially, shooting is about the collective upward momentum of one's body. By your knees being out of rhythm from the beginning of your shot and your shooting pocket being out of rhythm from your leap, everything's scattered all over the place. As such, you're right, you do in fact need to find a rhythm where the ball is low as your knees are bent, then comes upward and your legs begin to power up alongside.

To help with the catapult, I'd still suggest the one hand form shooting in front of the basket. I'd concentrate on bending the knees and creating an upward motion, finishing while holding the follow through and snapping the wrist (like you do in some of your shots). I was always told to shoot as if I were try to shoot out of a telephone booth. That means, make sure the release and follow through is relatively high (as opposed to being straight out in a line in front of your chest).

I'd slowly work toward a point where you could catch the rock, square both of your feet to the basket, bend your knees, and bring the ball upward as you begin to jump (in one fluid motion), releasing the ball as you're reaching the peak of your jump.

Re: Can you guys judge my jumpshot form and give me some serious criticisms?

Thanks so much rake! I've applied all of the things you told me to do today along with bringing the ball down before the shot and every single shot felt great! My main goal wasn't just to find a jump shot that worked and harbored immediate impact shooting percentage-wise, because I knew that would not be the case. My goal was to find a consistent shot that just felt right every time I shot it, hit or miss, as long as it felt right, that's all I cared about because I knew that once I found the right shot I had a good foundation laid down. I played 4 1 on 1's today, all against guys that challenged me while I was shooting around with my new form, I did phenomenal. I was making Kobe-esque turnaround jumpers and all kinds of contested shots, just because my shot felt right. I also iced the day off with a 2v2 game in which we won 16-2 with me scoring 8 buckets from well behind the 3-point line. First of all, you were absolutely right about the base being the most important part of a jumpshot. I had a wider base and since the ball started lower, by the time I uncoiled my knees I felt the momentum rising upward until the ball finally left my hand. Not only is my shot smoother and more accurate now, but I also incorporated more legs into my shot, which made my 8 threes that much more easier to shoot. On top of all of that, I was shooting on a really thick rim, it was an outdoor rim that is much thicker than a double rim. Form-wise, I am still finding it hard to shake the catapult motion, and will definitely continue to work on that. I just want to thank you sincerely for these phenomenal tips and dealing with all my side questions, also for actually reading everything I said. I know that there used to be a guy around here, I haven't seen him around in awhile but I know his name was something like Swaggin, you and Swaggin are so helpful and we need more Rake2204's and Swaggin####'s in this world.